Ｅｘｈｉｂｉｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ａｒｔ Ｗｏｒｋｓ ｂｙ Ｃｏｎｔｅｍｐｏｒａｒｙ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ ａｎｄ Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ Ｗｏｍｅｎ Ａｒｔｉｓｔｓ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ ａｎｄ Ｔｏｋｙｏ

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory of the world Anti-Fascist War and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression， an exhibition of art works by contemporary Chinese and Japanese women artists， jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development， the Japan-China Friendship Centre and the Ju You Association for the Promotion of Japan-China Friendly Exchanges， was held at the Japan-China Friendship Centre in Tokyo from June 15 to 19 and at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC in Beijing from June 25 to 30.

The exhibition took peace as its main theme. The Chinese and Japanese women artists expressed their love for life and their pursuit of happiness with their unique artistic language and promoted Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges and enhanced Sino-Japanese friendship with their art. On display were over 60 works of art carefully created by 11 women artists of certain influence in the Chinese and Japanese art circles. They included oil paintings， ink portraits， traditional Chinese realistic paintings characterized by fine brushwork and close attention to detail， engravings and carvings. Either eulogizing the happy life， the melody of our times and the beauty of life， or calling for world peace， these art works with high ideological contents and artistry gave the visitors not only the artistic enjoyment， but also profound reflections and inspirations.

The exhibition opened at the Japan-China Friendship Centre on June 15. Public figures from various circles and friendly personages of China and Japan as well as the participating painters， totaling some 100， attended the opening ceremony. Chinese ambassador to Japan Wang Yi was present at the opening ceremony and made a warm speech. He said， peace is the most important thing in this world. The previous generations waged wave upon wave of struggles and made unremitting efforts to oppose war and fight for peace. The exhibition with the theme of peace held here today， the first of a series of exhibitions planned by the two countries， has special significance. He expressed the hope that the exhibition would make positive contributions to the cultural exchanges between the two countries and the sound development of Sino-Japanese relations.

CPAFFC Vice President Li Xiaolin and Tatsumi Murakami， director general of the Japan-China Friendship Centre， spoke on behalf of the Chinese and Japanese sponsors. Vice President Li said in her speech， the Chinese and Japanese women， women artists in particular， share the love for life and consistent pursuit of art. They convey their feelings and depict their longing for a better future with fine and rich emotions unique in women and paint beauty and ugliness with vigorous strokes to express their hatred for war and pursuit of peace. She expressed the belief that this exhibition would not only provide a stage for the women artists of China and Japan to exchange their techniques and show their talents， but would also contribute to promoting cultural exchanges and enhancing friendship between the women and people of the two countries and safeguarding world peace. In his speech Director General Tatsumi Murakami urged the women artists of the two countries to work hard and diligently and add a new chapter to the Japan-China cultural and art exchanges， and to the cause of world peace and Japan-China friendship. During the exhibition， the Asahi Shimbun， NHK and other Japanese mainstream media gave detailed coverage of the event.

The exhibition moved to Beijing on June 25. It was mounted at the Friendship Museum of the CPAFFC and was well received by the Chinese visitors and foreign friends.

Participating in the exhibition were Chinese painters Wang Yingchun， Wu Xingqing， Pan Ying， Liu Liping and Yan Ming， Chinese painters residing in Japan Li Yan and Mi Dongying， and Japanese painters Yoko Makoshi， Yutaka Miun， Toshiko Yokoyama and Michiko Shina.